Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 1.djvu/23

5 with the slaves and did as his brother had reported, till the call to afternoon prayer.afternoon-prayer. [sic] When King Shehriyar saw this, he was as one distraught and said to his brother, “Arise, let us depart hence, for we have no concern with kingship, and wander till we find one to whom the like has happened as to us, else our death were better than our life.” Then they went out by a postern of the palace and journeyed days and nights till they came to a tree standing in the midst of a meadow, by a spring of water, on the shore of the salt sea, and they drank of the stream and sat down by it to rest. When the day was somewhat spent, behold, the sea became troubled and there rose from it a black column that ascended to the sky and made towards the meadow. When the princes saw this, they were afraid and climbed up to the top of the tree, which was a high one, that they might see what was the matter; and behold, it was a genie of lofty stature, broad-browed and wide-chested, bearing on his head a coffer of glass with seven locks of steel. He landed and sat down under the tree, where he set down the coffer, and opening it, took out a smaller one. This also he opened, and there came forth a damsel slender of form and dazzlingly beautiful, as she were a shining sun, as says the poet Uteyeh:

When the genie saw her, he said to her, “O queen of noble ladies, thou whom indeed I stole away on thy wedding night, I have a mind to sleep awhile.” And he